Crystallization
by purple snowflakes
Summary: Crystals, of no scratches, of no marks, of clarity, of pureness. From something dirty, something bad, if it’s given one small chance and a few nudges, it could emerge as something... completely different.
1. Met

**Crystallization**

**Semi-important ramblings before reading the story (you can skip it; no wait, don't):**

A/N: This is purple snowflakes number two reporting to base! I present you the stupid (also first chapterly CCS fic) fic I've been talking about. I know the summary is, eh, weird, but it's supposed (**note**: SUPPOSED) to be intriguing. I think it made you puke instead, didn't it. ARGH. I'm no good at this kind of stuff. So, readers, please don't mind my disgusting writing because I'm still underage (shh, it's a secret; wait, now it isn't) and not really experienced.

P.S: BEFORE YOU WINCE IN DISGUST, THIS IS AN **AU AND SS** FIC. So, come, turn back around now to look at the nice, pwetty screen! I know I should shut up. Okay, I will.

Disclaimer: If CLAMP came out with such horrifying work, I think they would have gone bankrupt. So obviously, I don't own the characters in here, but I do own the puked up plot and writing.

_Crystals, of no scratches, of no marks, of clarity, of pureness. From something dirty, something bad, if it's given one small chance and a few nudges, it could enter crystallization and emerge as something... completely different._

Met

The young girl hurtled into the opposite wall, slamming into the bricks with a sickening crunch. The thieves behind her were muttering, searching the bag they had wrenched from her. Finally, after a few moments, they stared incredulously at the measly ten-dollar notes they had found, and looked regretfully at her hand phone, which had been crushed. They emptied the rest of her bag on the ground, growling menacingly. One of them smashed the girl harder into the brick wall, her auburn bangs now matted with blood.

"Pathetic. What an idiot. She's poor, man. Let's go, before anyone finds us here."

Snarling irritably, the thieves left, stepping smoothly over the slim frame of the teenaged girl. Tears spilled out of her eyes, and a fat drop of blood seeped into her vision. She didn't bother wiping it away; she was too weak to use any more energy. It was pitch dark, and she could just see a faint glow in the distance. Probably a street lamp. She didn't know.

The tears mingled with the blood, and she felt sharp throbs of pain on her forehead, pounding ferociously. It was where her head had slammed into the wall; she might have had a concussion, or something. Determinedly, she sat upright, hearing her bones creak in protest. She looked bluntly at the pile of objects on the floor, and another drop of blood trickled down her nose. Didn't she remember to stuff a first-aid kit into her bag?

"Help," she said weakly in her own language. If only she knew how to speak Cantonese. Then she would be able to converse with the Hong Kong people around here. Another tear leaked out of her eye. It hurt; it really did! It was surprising that she wasn't bawling her eyes out. Onii-chan, also known as the meanest older brother in the entire world, Touya, would have been raising an eyebrow sceptically at her lack of sobs.

"Is anyone there? Help?" she said tentatively, as the blood flowed down her lips. She tasted it unwillingly; it was weird. And disgusting, too.

The faint glow of the faraway street lamp flickered suddenly. Sakura blinked. The next second, the movement in the light was gone.

"Anyone there?" she inquired loudly. "Help?"

Footsteps were approaching, and eagerly Sakura sat up.

"I'm covered in blood; can anyone hear me?" she asked stupidly. She winced as the jabs of pain came again, hurting terribly. More tears spilled out. The footsteps grew louder, and she could feel the ground vibrating very slightly as the person came closer.

"It hurts…" she whimpered to herself, running her fingers over her bleeding wound. She looked intently at her fingers; they were covered in the red liquid. She gave a half-hearted sob, trying her hardest to defy Onii-chan and make him feel defeated when he realized she didn't make any noise at all when she got slammed into the wall by some stupid thieves. If only she had her hand phone. She swivelled her eyes to the corner of the alley; there it was, crushed to smithereens.

Someone said something in Cantonese.

"Excuse me?" she said politely. "I can't understand you… can you speak Japanese?"

That person, presumably a guy (she could hardly see anything in the darkness), growled irritably.

"I can understand Japanese, but I can't speak it," he said frustratingly, still speaking in Cantonese.

Sakura flinched slightly. There was a cutting edge to the tone of the boy's voice, and he didn't sound fully matured yet. Probably a teenager, like her.

"I guess you can't, can you?" she said hesitantly. More blood welled up on her wound, and trickled silently down the bridge of her nose.

"I can understand it," he attempted slowly in Japanese. "I just cannot speak it."

"Sugoi! You spoke it! Anyway, I'm, um, bleeding lots, so if it's of no trouble, um, can you help me up, please?" she said, trying to sound happy and casual as she pointed at her wound. The boy stared at it.

"That looks bad," he breathed. Sakura watched him questioningly.

"What?" she asked. More blood spilled down her face, and she winced. "Painful."

The boy nodded wordlessly.

"Can you stand?" he asked.

"What?" Sakura said quizzically. Her eyes were filled with tears from the pain, but of course, the boy couldn't see so.

"Stand, you know?" he said impatiently, squatting down and standing up again.

"Squat? Move up and down?" she said blankly. The boy slapped his head.

"Can you stand up?" he asked, gesturing upwards with his hand. Sakura stared at it.

"Huh?" she said, whimpering. She couldn't understand anything the boy was doing. "You can speak Japanese just fine; why don't you speak in Japanese?"

"I'm bad at it," he said, now in Japanese. "I hate Japanese."

Sakura looked at him, hurt.

"You hate Japanese? Japanese people like me?" she said, sounding upset.

"The language. I don't like the language; it's very hard to learn."

"Were you asking me to stand?" she finally guessed. The boy nodded. Her muscles and bones ached from the impact of the bricks, and when she tried, she just toppled over aimlessly.

"I can't stand," she said tearfully. "It hurts!"

Sighing, the boy crouched down reluctantly and heaved her into his arms. Sakura gulped; her blood was seeping into his sleeve. Still utterly determined not to wail, she bit her tongue and held back her tears. The boy gazed at the pile of objects on the ground.

"You were robbed?" he grunted. Sakura nodded. The boy crouched down again and shoved everything into the torn bag, before zipping it up and handing it to her.

"Arigatou," she whispered and clutched the bag. It was already an effort holding on to the bag, but she held on to it as well as she could. The boy walked out of the alley, Sakura in his arms.

Instantly, they were doused in the streetlight; Sakura cringed from the sudden brightness.

"Where are you going?" she asked nervously.

"My house, it's closer than the hospital," he said tonelessly. Sakura gave a tiny nod. The guy was freaky; the sooner she could get to a phone, the better.

And then, she realized she didn't know the hotel number. And Touya and Otou-san didn't have any hand phones. She groaned.

"Are you staying in a hotel?" asked the boy keenly. "I can bring you there instead; damn, maybe not, my house is still the closest..."

Sakura swallowed hard. The boy didn't seem to welcome Sakura's presence very much.

What was the hotel called, anyway? Onii-chan, Otou-san and she had been making their way to the hotel in the taxi – Otou-san mentioned its name, but she had not been listening. She was too busy exclaiming about the pretty shops whizzing past, and Otou-san decided to stop to browse around and have a bite. They piled out of the taxi and were running around in all directions when Sakura saw it.

The brooch.

It was simply made, with an ornamental cherry blossom melded into the thin strip of gold. Sakura felt attracted to it; it had been so pretty, gleaming in the light. There was a tiny ruby attached at the side, barely noticeable, but it was it that intrigued Sakura so. It glowed ever so mysteriously, and Sakura kept staring at it, until she realized Onii-chan and Otou-san were gone.

She had wanted to keep staring at the brooch, but finally she tore her gaze from it and glanced around. Otou-san and Onii-chan were nowhere to be seen.

After that, she wandered around pointlessly, almost crying but not wanting to. Onii-chan would definitely tease her for crying at the age of sixteen. And why didn't they have hand phones, when her best friend Tomoyo had given her one?

And then those stupid thieves came and practically murdered her, until this weird guy came.

"So, what's your hotel?"

Sakura laughed nervously.

"Um… I don't… uh… know?" she said, trying to smile but stopping when she felt more blood spew out.

"What, how can you not know?" he said forcefully. Sakura felt tears prick the corners of her eyes, and she blinked them away hastily.

"Um, I wasn't listening to my Otou-san – HOEEE!"

A massive mansion loomed in front of her, towering to the velvety night sky, which was dotted with stars. The wrought iron gates swung open immediately, and the boy stalked in, looking irritated with his load. A girl with light brown hair and dark eyes cocked her head to one side as the boy entered the room.

"Oh, Syaoran, bad boy," she reproved, shaking her finger. "Out late again."

The boy ground his teeth and walked right past her. Sakura looked inquisitively at the girl.

"Is that your sister?"

Syaoran sighed and nodded, dumping Sakura very unceremoniously onto the sofa.

"Who's she, Syaoran? Hey, hey, be a good little brother and tell Fuutie!" pleaded the girl, trailing after him. Syaoran gritted his teeth and stomped on the ground rather unnecessarily.

"Shut up," he snapped, flinging the cupboard open a tad hard and wrenching out some bandages and ointment.

"Is she Japanese? She was speaking Japanese, Syaoran-chan!"

"It's 'kun'. Chan is for girls," he informed her tersely.

"I know. But Syaoran-chan sounds cute, doesn't it? Come on, Syaoran-chan, tell me who she is!"

"I'm not a girl," he said through clenched teeth, trying to put as much distance as possible between his sister and himself. Fuutie followed after him.

"Well, Syaoran-chan, why does she have blood all over her face? Should I get Mother? Huh? Huh, _Syao-chan_?"

"No, stop it, Fuutie, go away," he said angrily, pulling away from his sister's arm. Fuutie pouted, flipping her long hair from one shoulder to the other.

"Syaoran-chan… tell me!" she pleaded, just as Syaoran walked into the room. Sakura's eyes widened at the use of 'chan'. She stared at Syaoran, who looked away pointedly.

"Your name is Syaoran?" she asked, trying it out in a Japanese accent. Syaoran, surprised at how quickly she managed to say his name in Japanese, nodded.

"You want me to help? Syaoran-chan, I can help, you know! Lemme help! Come on! Or I'll call Mother! You're not supposed to be wandering around at midnight! You're real lucky you got a nice, big sister like me! Lemme help, Syao-eee!"

Syaoran, his eye twitching dangerously, crouched down beside Sakura and ignored his older sister. Fuutie turned her attention upon Sakura.

"Syaoran-chan fits him so well, doesn't it? What's your name, anyway? I'm Li Fuutie, the _older _sister of little wittle eensy weensy tiny shrimpy Syaorannie," claimed Fuutie in fluent Japanese (excluding all her made up words), pointing at Syaoran. Syaoran dabbed rather fiercely at Sakura's wound, and she grimaced.

"Ano... I'm Kinomoto Sakura."

Fuutie glared at her brother and snatched the cotton out of his hand.

"Syaoran! You're being too rough!" she cried, dabbing a lot lighter at the wound than Syaoran had been doing. Syaoran scowled heavily. Sakura noticed that unlike his sister, his eyes were a unique hue of amber-brown, penetrating with their gaze, and his hair was a big sticky-outy mess of dark chestnut brown.

"I. Am. Not. Little," he snarled. Fuutie gave a high, tinkling laugh.

"Oh, don't act humble, little bro! You're the youngest, the sweetest, the tiniest, the most important, the littlest, the shrimpiest, and being the youngest out of five children proves that!"

Sakura was amazed that Syaoran could scowl even heavier.

"Five children?" she asked, while Fuutie cleared the dried blood off her face with a towel.

"Yep! Wonderful Syao-ee here is the heir to the Li Clan. We other four _older _sisters," she paused, glancing at Syaoran, who was frowning so deeply it seemed as if the wrinkles on his face would remain there even after he stopped scowling, "are nothing. Fortunately, we are older than our beloved Syao-chan, so we can tease him all day long. Unfortunately, although he's living with a family of females, he hasn't turned sissy."

Sakura didn't know whether or not to laugh; Syaoran was looking stony-faced and Fuutie was beaming widely. Mutely, Syaoran walked over and yanked the towel from Fuutie's hand.

"I think I'd better do that," he growled portentously, glowering at his sister. Fuutie pouted.

"Orh, Syao-chan is angry," she said. Sakura shivered. If she were Fuutie, she would have been running into the nearest room. And locking the door. Plus throwing the key away.

"You can go to SLEEP now, Fuutie," said Syaoran meaningfully, shooting daggers at his sister. Fuutie faked a yawn.

"Oh, but Syao-chan, I'm not sleepy!" she whined.

"Quit calling me Syao-chan!" he hissed, now bandaging Sakura's head up extremely vigorously.

"Fine then. How about Ran-chan? Actually, it sounds worse. FINE, be that way... I'll tell the others about your new nickname...Syao-chan... Goodnight, Sakura..." she added sleepily, trudging off to her room.

Syaoran turned back to Sakura, who was looking innocently up at him, her emerald eyes unnervingly vivid. Hastily, he turned back to his bandaging, and his heart sank as he remembered his sister's words about telling his other sisters about 'Syao-chan'.

"Oh, Kami-sama," he muttered. "Not another nickname."

Sakura blinked.

"Another nickname?"

Syaoran nodded, tightening the bandage. Sakura fingered it worriedly.

"Li," she said. She wasn't supposed to call strangers by their first names; for Japanese, it was rude. "How are you going to explain to your mother about me?"

He shrugged carelessly.

"She won't mind. She'll just kill me when she realizes I went out again," he said. For the first time, Sakura detected a tiny tinge of respect in his voice as he said this.

"Oh, um, okay. Thanks a million for everything, Li-kun, I could have died," she said, smiling gratefully at Syaoran. Syaoran ran his fingers through his bangs and stared in another direction.

"I didn't do much," he said. "You don't need to thank me."

Sakura beamed happily, her face shining.

"Yes, I do, Li-kun! You're letting me stay the night and stuff. I promise you, Li, I'll probably be on the news tomorrow; Onii-chan and Otou-san would have told the police! And I definitely will be leaving tomorrow! So don't bother about me, I'm sure Onii-chan and Otou-san will be looking for me," said Sakura enthusiastically. Syaoran shrugged nonchalantly.

"I guess. Well, we'd better get you upstairs; there's an extra bedroom somewhere," he muttered, slipping his arms underneath Sakura, causing her to squeak in surprise.

"Um, thanks," she murmured embarrassedly. Syaoran gave no response, his face completely expressionless as he picked her up. Sakura had no choice but to look at the underneath of his face. His long dark brown hair bounced slightly as he walked, and his eyes were piercing, seemingly searing through every wall, every door that came in his path.

Finally, after what seemed like an uncomfortable eternity, Syaoran kicked a door open casually and paced in, dropping Sakura onto her bed and causing her to bounce around a few times before coming to a halt.

"Thanks," she said, clutching her head as it started throbbing even harder. Syaoran glanced at her.

"You sure you're all right?" he asked. Sakura glanced at him curiously. Was he concerned? She couldn't hear any trace of concern in his voice, though.

"Yeah, I think so," she said thickly, while doubling over with her hands still holding her head. "Thanks for worrying about me." She gave him a weak smile.

"You don't look too good, Kinomoto," he said warily. "I think I'd better take you to the hospital tomorrow."

Sakura's eyes widened in fear.

"No, no, not the hospital! I'm fine, I really am. Don't worry, Li, I'm perfectly all right!" she said frantically, putting on a blank face as she ignored the pain in her head. It was as if a porcupine had forced its way in and was scurrying all over the inside of her skull, its spines piercing every cubic centimetre of her brain and jabbing particularly viciously at her forehead.

"Well," he said hesitantly. "I think you really need the hospital."

"Why?" she asked wildly, looking afraid. "I hate hospitals; lots of people die there and one of my friends kept telling me ghost stories about hospitals! Ghosts leave their hosts and float around haunting people! In the hospital! Especially at night!" She shook her head frenziedly, her auburn tresses flying in all directions. "No hospitals for me!"

"There are no ghosts in hospitals," he said, his voice tinged with amusement. Sakura's head jerked towards him disbelievingly. Strange. Humour coming from the coldest guy on earth. "I'll bring you in the morning, and after that we can pack you off with your family. Is that okay?"

"I guess... Oh, thanks, Li, for being concerned," she said happily, the fat porcupine still squashing its spines contentedly on Sakura's forehead. Syaoran looked away again, raking his hair with his fingers.

"Um, okay," he said gruffly, turning his back on Sakura and placing his hand on the handle of the door. "If anything happens in the night, come to my room; two doors from your left. Don't go to the first one on your left; my stupid sisters are residing there. They'll pounce on you the moment you step in."

"Okay, Li-kun. Goodnight," she said. Syaoran looked back. The only thing visible in the darkness of the room was the scintillating gleam of those sparkling emerald eyes. Regardless of all the pain she had to endure in her head, her eyes still looked blissful and contented, shimmering brightly in the dim starlight streaming in from the window.

"Goodnight," he said, looking back at the wooden panes of the door and slipping out. Sakura stared at the closed door, and turned over.

Syaoran was different; between his sister and him, his presence felt different. She couldn't explain it; there was something very unusual about him.

Very, very unusual.


	2. Lost

A/N: Whee, here comes my next chapter. Man, this story is so unpopular, only four reviews. Pathetic, I know. Well, can't blame them readers, can I? The first chapter was so boring. Well, according to my good friend spunkygal.

I seriously hope this chapter is more interesting... Yeah, it's long, I know. Oh, and I know it's weird if you add Japanese words suddenly into the story, like when Sakura speaks and whatnot, but I find it fun, so I'm really sorry if you get confused; it's like Sakura speaking both English and Japanese, ain't it? But since Sakura's SUPPOSED to speak Japanese, I might as well write in some I can actually understand. I know, I can hardly understand anything. (This was another comment brought up by spunkygal.)

So please take some time to read this! I'm sounding so desperate, argh. Well, okay, you can ignore it, I don't mind, but REVIEW! I love reviews and they're practically my inspiration. I'm lucky I finished a few chapters before posting, or I would have trashed this whole thing.

Sorry for all that trash. You can skip this and continue... wonder if anyone bothers, eh? (:

---

Lost

_Who are you? _

_"Don't be afraid. I just need you for a while, all right?"_

_Water droplets spill to the ground. A leaky pipe hangs overhead, dripping ominously. The glint of something held in his hand was obvious in the pitch darkness._

_What's that? I don't like it here. I want to go home. I want Otou-san and Onii-chan. Who are you?_

_"It's for a tiny short while. Please wait. It won't hurt."_

_A syringe was what he held. The liquid was red, transparent and sweet-smelling._

_I don't like injections; what are you going to do to me?_

_"It won't hurt a single bit. Promise."_

_Where is Syaoran? Why aren't I in his house? Where am I? What are you trying to do?_

_"Hold still! You're making things difficult. Now, calm down and let me inject you."_

_No, no, it'll hurt a lot. I need to go away. Go away! Don't try to kill me, you're no good guy!_

_"I'm a good guy, I swear; hold still and everything will be over."_

_The needle moved closer and closer, shining, catching the solitary ray of light streaming in from a barred window._

_My instincts tell me you're bad. Something's wrong; let me go!_

_"We really have to thank him. He's brilliant, bringing her here so easily. Where is he?"_

_Footsteps pattered against the slippery cemented ground, making sloshing noises. _

_"Yes, yes, wonderful. I thank you so much, for bringing her here. And where are her beloved family members? I think they'd better come and see this little girl before... yes, yes, that's better, now place them there."_

_Why can't I see them? Who are they? Stop it, let me go! What are you doing?_

_"Hold still, Sakura, we're not done yet."_

_The needle shone._

_Please stop it, go away, where's Onii-chan and Otou-san, where's Li, where's everyone, stop it, stop it, ow, it hurts, it really hurts, what are you doing, stop pushing it, what's that thing, what's that silvery thing, ouch, stop, stop, STOP – _

"STOP! Stop, I want Otou-san and Onii-chan, stop! It hurts, it really, really hurts, where's Li's house, where's Li, stop-"

"Oi, stop it! Are you all right? Wake up! Oi!"

A distant voice shattered her thoughts, snatching her back into the real world. Wailing frantically, Sakura opened her eyes and stared straight into a pool of deep golden brown, which strongly emanated worry. She blinked, and noticed she had been staring into Syaoran's eyes, for a lock of his dark brown hair had flopped into them.

"Are you all right?" he asked, eyebrows creased with worry, perspiration streaking his face. Sakura practically burst with relief.

"Li-kun! I'm in your house! I'm still in your house! Thank goodness!" she cried, sinking weakly into Syaoran's arms, for he had been clutching her shoulders. Her eyes were blurry with tears from her relief, and laughing happily, she raised her head.

"Hey, hey, are you all right?" he asked nervously, seeing the tears filling the corners of her eyes and threatening to overflow.

"No injection, no needle! No freaky guys trying to kill me!" she said, her voice trembling. The tears poured forth, staining her cheeks, and Sakura leaned her head against Syaoran's shoulder, her shoulders shaking.

"Hey, um, don't cry," he said, patting her awkwardly on the head, his other hand still gripping her shoulder.

"It was so scary," she sobbed into his shoulder, laughing at the same time. "But it was all a dream! A dream!"

"What?" he said abruptly, pushing her away and seizing both her shoulders. "What dream?" Sakura stared at him, wide-eyed.

"A nightmare," she corrected herself. "It was a nightmare."

"What nightmare?" he asked urgently. "Tell me!"

"Um, there was a needle," she said, looking utterly bemused. "And there was a syringe, filled with red stuff. I don't know what that was. It was really, really dark, so I couldn't see anything. There was a guy holding the syringe, and he was going to inject me with it. He kept telling me everything would be over soon if I just stopped moving; I think I was wriggling a lot."

"And?"

"I think he told the person who brought me there to come over, because he wanted to thank him for bringing me there so simply. And then, he told that someone to bring over my family members, but I couldn't see anything. Then, I felt a throbbing pain in my forehead," she paused, tapping it to see if it still hurt; it twinged, but that was all, "and, um, that's all. I just started screaming because it hurt so much."

She looked quizzically at Syaoran. He had stiffened considerably, his face pale, and her shoulders were being squeezed unbearably painfully. He seemed to be trying to say something, but the words refused to come out.

"Li?" she said tensely. "Li, daijoubu deska?"

Syaoran snapped out of his reverie, and as if he had been controlled by some invisible force the few minutes before, he sprung back from Sakura's bed and landed in a tangled heap on the ground. Sakura watched him bewilderedly as he scrambled to his feet.

"Hurry, breakfast is ready; the kitchen is three floors downstairs, after that I'll bring you to the hospital. Be wary of my sisters," he said brusquely, dashing out of the room. Sakura widened her emerald eyes, feeling confused as she treaded out of the room.

---

"Oh, KAWAII!"

Four voices squealed simultaneously, and Sakura's vision was instantly blocked by liberal amounts of light brown hair. Squeaking in surprise, she toppled onto the last step of the staircase, while hands reached out to pinch and cuddle her.

"Oh, she's so sweet!" swooned a voice.

"She's so adorable!" said another happily, pinching her cheek.

"Syao-chan made a good pick!"

"Syao-chan!"

"Hoeeee...?" murmured Sakura, trying to get on her feet, feeling her cheeks swell and fill with red from the girls' overexcited pinches. She managed to escape, her hair tangled and messy, an untidy mat of brown. Panting breathlessly, she scrambled onto her seat, which was placed beside Syaoran's. Fuutie plopped down on the other empty seat beside her, looking at Sakura with a rapt expression.

"See, girls, isn't she cute?" she claimed happily. The other three girls nodded vigorously. One of them had shoulder-length light brown hair, carefully combed and silky-looking. Another had short hair, and the last girl's hair just hanging above her shoulders. Three of them had dark greyish black eyes and one of them had the same eyes as Syaoran had. They were all grinning at Syaoran, who was looking intently at his breakfast and eating it extremely slowly.

"SYAO-CHAN!" chorused the girls. "Sakura-chan looks so cute, doesn't she?"

He ignored them, chewing carefully on his food.

"Syao-chan, we asked you something!"

"Who's Syao-chan, I wonder?" snarled Syaoran. The four girls looked innocently at him.

"Why, Syao-chan, didn't you know? It's your new name!" they announced proudly. Sakura noticed that they were all speaking in Japanese for her to understand the conversation.

"No, I – didn't – know," he said through clenched teeth, fuming. He glanced at Sakura. "You can eat anything you want. After you've finished I'm going to bring you to the hospital. Hurry up, though; I can't be late for work."

Sakura, who had been scooping a ladleful of porridge into her bowl, dropped the ladle and stared at Syaoran, her mouth hanging open.

"What?" she said incredulously. "You _work_?"

"Yes," he said crisply.

"B-but, how old are you?" stammered Sakura softly. He looked barely older than her, and yet he was _working_?

"17 come this July."

"Wow!" whispered Sakura reverently. Syaoran wasn't looking at her; he was glaring pointedly at the spilt porridge, which had stained the white linen a sickly greyish colour. Sakura squeaked in horror.

"Oh, gomen! I didn't notice! Honto-ni gomen nasai!" she said shrilly, looking flustered as she tried to clear the porridge with a piece of tissue. The porridge dripped off the edge of the table and splattered onto Sakura's skirt. Flushing furiously, she attempted to clear the porridge, but to no avail.

"I'll do it. Go and change," said Syaoran shortly, pushing Sakura lightly in the small of her back and clearing the porridge with one swipe of a rag held in his hand. Sakura looked absolutely wretched, standing there and staring at him guiltily.

"Um, Li, I'm really sorry-"

"Never mind," he grunted irritably. "Just go change."

Sakura gazed at him sorrowfully, and a single tear spilt from her right eye. Syaoran wasn't even accepting her apology or giving any sign he really accepted it. Slowly, she turned around, prepared to run all the way upstairs and fling herself on her bed to cry her heart out; she had never felt this bad, for usually other people would accept her apology graciously and smile at her to reassure her they weren't angry at all. But this time, Syaoran seemed furious with her stupidity.

Suddenly, she walked straight into someone; silk muffling her surprised 'hoe!', she jumped backwards and raised her head.

A tall, fair woman with the same eyes as Syaoran's other three sisters and long, raven-black hair reaching her waist stood in front of her. She was wearing very strange clothes, something she presumed Hong Kong people wore. Her intense gaze was upon the emerald-eyed girl in front of her. She bowed towards Sakura, who bowed back hastily. The woman turned to look at Syaoran.

"Syaoran?" she inquired, as if asking for an explanation. Syaoran had sprung to his feet, back rod-straight as he stood at attention. As if robotically, his head turned to look at his mother. Sakura saw fear and respect burning in his dark brown eyes.

"I – I found this girl yesterday in an alley, Mother," he said, his voice trembling very slightly. "She was badly injured."

Sakura's eyes snapped wide open as she stared into somewhere nobody but she could see. It was all blackness, and hints of red flashes whizzed past. The presence... Syaoran and that lady had the same strange presence she felt the previous night from Syaoran.

"Um, this is my mother," Syaoran said, glancing at Sakura. Sakura nodded timidly and looked at Syaoran's mother.

"I'm Li Yelan," she said, acknowledging Sakura, who smiled back.

Syaoran was still standing as if someone had nailed a board to his back, causing him to stand so straight he could be used as a ruler. He nodded jerkily, watching Yelan sweep her eyes over Sakura once again, her gaze more probing and curious than her first time. Sakura dearly yearned to sit down, but her feet were rooted to the spot.

The blackness swooped down upon her, and something rang in her ears. A swish, caused by another red flash, echoed near her. The weird feeling of Syaoran's mother – stronger than ever, was back. More red flashes blinded her, and more black swallowed her, until suddenly, everything was sucked from her vision as if someone had stuffed a vacuum cleaner into her ear and sucked all of her brain's contents.

"Great power emanates from you," murmured Yelan. She glanced at the antique clock on the wall. "Syaoran, shouldn't you be going for work?"

The imaginary wooden board nailed to Syaoran's back came loose, and in his disbelief he accidentally knocked over his chair while trying to regain his original composure.

"What? Hey, you, come on, we'd better go now!" he yelled at Sakura, darting out of the front door. Sakura blinked.

"But, my skirt!" she shrieked after him, and sprinted up the staircase at a speed which caused all of Syaoran's sisters to look after her with admiring expressions.

"She's really fast," commented Shiefa. "Really, really fast."

"But Syao-chan's real mean to little Sakura-chan, though."

"Syao-chan?" said Yelan questioningly. "Do you mean Syaoran?"

"Yup! Isn't it a cute name?" chirped Fuutie. Yelan looked disapprovingly at her.

"Not at all appropriate for a person of his status," she chided, sitting in an empty seat. "Don't call him that when we have to have meetings with the other members."

"He's so rude to Sakura. We must spread his wonderful nickname!" insisted Fanren, switching swiftly to Japanese as Sakura ran down the stairs. Unfortunately, Sakura didn't notice, and she scuttled right past them, her shoulder-length auburn tresses fanning out behind her.

"All right, Li-kun, I'm coming – HOE!"

There was a crash, and all four sisters winced.

"I think she slipped on the official Li Clan welcome mat. The one with all the weird swirly patterns and stuff."

---

"I don't like hospitals, I don't like hospitals, I don't like hospitals..." whispered Sakura, terrified. She trailed after Syaoran closely, casting furtive glances at dark, shadowed corners. "HOEEEE!"

"What? What is it?" asked Syaoran agitatedly. Sakura heaved a sigh of relief.

"Nothing. I thought I saw something," she said uneasily. Syaoran rolled his eyes and cursed. Why would there be GHOSTS in HOSPITALS, of all places? The girl had no sense, man.

"Is Doctor Chou free now?" Syaoran demanded of the young girl behind the counter. The girl recoiled, looking at Syaoran with a frightened expression.

"Um, in fact, he's got no customers today, only a few around an hour ago-"

"Fantastic. Let's go," he said, dragging a reluctant Sakura into the clinic. A balding old man looked up.

"Do you have an appointment?" he asked immediately. Syaoran rolled his eyes.

"I didn't have time for an appointment-"

"Well, you need an appointment."

"Brilliant! Let's go, Li-kun!" cried Sakura happily, tapping Syaoran's shoulder, but he refused to budge.

"It's an emergency."

"Well, go to the A&E room. I repeat, _you need an appointment_."

Syaoran growled and scowled heavily at the doctor. He withdrew a business card from the pocket of his pants and slammed it on the table.

"There. Li Corporation. Can't blame me if I didn't have time to make an appointment, can you? I only found this girl yesterday midnight."

The man brushed his finger across the card, awed.

"You're the boss?" he whispered disbelievingly, staring at the teenager before him.

"Yeah. So check this girl, or it'll be your fault if I'm late for work."

The doctor nodded professionally.

"Yes, sir, of course."

He pulled Sakura around the table and peeled off the bandages around her forehead sharply, making her squeal.

"Ouch," said Sakura tearfully as Doctor Chou bent curiously over the bloody mass on her forehead.

"You call yourself a doctor?" said Syaoran sceptically, raising an eyebrow at Sakura's painful expression. "I thought all doctors do things quickly and painlessly."

"Bad. Very bad injury. She might have had a concussion," mused the old man, ignoring Syaoran's remark and stroking his wispy white beard thoughtfully. "Whoever bandaged her up did a good job, though. Stemmed the flow of blood."

"How nice. Now does she need an x-ray or whatever? I really need to get going," said Syaoran impatiently. Doctor Chou waved at him vaguely.

"Hold on, boy. Now, she should have stitches, if she wants her wound to heal faster."

Sakura squeaked in horror.

"Stitches?" she repeated anxiously. The old man nodded solemnly. Sakura squeaked again, looking terrified.

"No stitches! I hate stitches! They hurt! It'll hurt more than this!" she said, petrified. She pointed at her bloody forehead. "It's not even bleeding anymore! It's healing! I don't need stitches!"

"But, it'll be better if you get stitches," said Syaoran, eyeing her forehead.

"Please, Li, I hate stitches!" she wailed.

"Without stitches, it'll take longer to heal, of course. I have no idea how her wound managed to stop bleeding so fast. She could have bled to death, with an injury like this. And all you needed was some bandage and cotton?"

Syaoran nodded.

"Hurry up, I really need to get going," he said, glancing at his watch and tapping his foot irritatingly. The old doctor scribbled down an illegible prescription and shoved it towards Syaoran.

"Painkillers and some of our special ointment. Nothing else I can do about it. It's best to use stitches, but, seeing as our young patient here dislikes them, I have nothing to say," he grunted. Syaoran gazed pointedly at Sakura's forehead, which was really rather disgusting to see.

"Shouldn't you bandage it up? We wouldn't want germs getting into the wound, would we?" said Syaoran coldly. The old man jumped, stroking his beard nervously.

"Oh, yes, slipped my mind. Age is catching on fast, blame my poor old head, greatest apologies, though," he said carelessly, watching Syaoran fearfully as he wrapped Sakura's head up with fresh bandages. Syaoran glanced back down at his watch.

"Could you hurry?" he said tersely. The old man jumped at Syaoran's tone, and in a blink of an eye he was done. He bowed courteously and showed the way out, even though he really didn't need to.

"Thank you!" Sakura said cheerfully as Syaoran lugged her out of the door. The old man waved back warily, before closing the door and leaning against it, breathing heavily. The Li boss was really freaky.

---

"Okay, so, you stay in my office. I really have to rush; don't touch anything," said Syaoran hurriedly, pushing Sakura down into a plush seat. He shoved some newspapers (sadly, in Chinese) towards her and waved vaguely at them. "Check if there's any news about you; if there isn't, you'd better go to the police." With that, he ran helter-skelter out of the room, slamming the polished wooden door behind him.

Sakura blinked blankly. She stared back at the desk on which there were the newspapers. Tentatively, she picked them up, the smell of freshly-printed newspapers wafting into her nose. She sneezed uncontrollably, plunging towards the ground with a loud crash.

"Li! Anything wrong – who are you?"

Sakura coughed raggedly, trying to sit up.

"These newspapers are really stinky," she commented, blinking tears out of her eyes. A man, probably a few years older than Syaoran, was staring at her cautiously, his hand hovering near his pocket, which was bulging slightly.

"Who are you?" he asked, taking another step towards Sakura. She looked up, tilting her head to one side curiously.

"Li told me to stay here," she said carefully, giving another few half-hearted coughs as she struggled to sit up. The man scrutinized her through his rounded glasses.

"What's your name?" he asked.

"Kinomoto Sa – Sa – Sakura," coughed Sakura, leaning herself on the seat of the chair as she tried to push herself up. The man raised an eyebrow before smiling gently.

"Hi, I'm Hiiragizawa Eriol," he said cheerily, sticking out a hand. Sakura took it and Eriol pulled her to her feet. "I'm Syaoran's secretary."

"Oh, um, cool!" said Sakura, giving a small smile. "Thanks for helping me up; I seem allergic to the smell of these..." She blew her auburn bangs out of her face embarrassedly. "Stupid thing to be allergic of, right?"

"No, of course not, Kinomoto-san, it's quite normal. Sometimes I have these stupid allergies too. Wait; may I call you Sakura?" asked Eriol courteously, his navy eyes shimmering mysteriously behind his lenses. Sakura paused for a moment, her emerald eyes locking with his, before answering hesitantly, "Um, sure, Hiiragizawa-kun."

"Call me Eriol," he said graciously. "Well, what were you reading the newspapers for?"

"Um," said Sakura, twirling a strand of her hair around her forefinger uncomfortably. "I can't read Chinese. I'm Japanese." Her eyes widened, realization hitting her. "Hey, how did you know to talk to me in Japanese?"

Eriol shrugged, grinning.

"Just had a hunch. Well, who wouldn't recognise such a lovely Japanese girl like you are?"

Sakura blushed to the roots of her hairs.

"That's not true," she whispered, sitting down into Syaoran's plush chair. "Eriol, do you know how to read Chinese?"

Eriol nodded.

"Want me to help you read it?"

"Ooh, yes! Thanks, Eriol-kun!" gushed Sakura happily, clasping her hands. "I was found by Li after being robbed by some thieves, and they smashed me into the wall"- here, she pointed to her bandaged up head –"but Li took me to his house and now I have to see if there's anything reported about a missing Japanese teenager because Onii-chan and Otou-san would have told the police by now and Li seems really scary so I should be better off gone, shouldn't I, heheheehhe?"

Sakura had finally realized she had been rattling on and on, but all Eriol did was stare at her worriedly.

"Is your forehead all right?" he asked concernedly. Sakura nodded vigorously.

"Hai! It doesn't hurt - well, not very much."

Eriol reached out suddenly and stroked Sakura's forehead, eyebrows knitted in concentration. Jets of red spurted out from both sides in Sakura's vision, and like the time she met Syaoran's mother, everything became pitch black, other than the flashes of red. The red collected in the middle of all the black, and became bigger, vaster, wider, until...

"I think it'll be all right now," he said softly, pulling back and thumbing through the newspaper like nothing had happened. "Oh, great, there's nothing here about a missing foreigner, Sakura-san. Maybe there'll be tomorrow. Don't worry; you just have to put up with Syaoran for one more day."

Sakura's mouth was hanging open. All she could do was choke out a, "Hoe?"

"Hmm?" said Eriol, still reading the newspaper. "Syaoran seems to be out of the office for many a time lately, and no one else has seen him during those 'missing Syaoran' periods... wonder where he'd gone too, don't you, Sakura?"

"H-how did you do that?" stammered Sakura, fingering her bandages. She peeled them off and felt her forehead with her fingers; her skin there completely smooth, without the bloody mass it had just barely an hour before.

"Do what?" Eriol said placidly, raising his head to meet Sakura's shocked, emerald eyes.

"It doesn't hurt anymore," she said, agape.

"You helped," he said, returning to his newspaper.

"What? What did I do?"

The door slammed open. Syaoran, with his brown hair sticking up in all directions and breathing heavily, kicked it shut and leaned against it, letting out a huge sigh before falling to his knees.

"Oh, hello, Li, saviour of little Sakura-san here," said Eriol, smiling.

"Shut up, Eriol," snarled Syaoran. "What the heck are you doing?"

"Accompanying Sakura," he said mildly. Sakura looked innocently at Syaoran.

"Hi, Li! My wound is okay now!" she said, bubbling with cheerfulness. Syaoran grimaced. Man, the girl seemed to be always happy. "Eriol is nice," she added, smiling.

"Kami-sama, never knew anyone would ever say that," muttered Syaoran, thinking about Sakura's retardation and glancing at Sakura's completely healed forehead. He didn't say anything more about it, for he had heard what his mother had said; great power emanated from the girl, and she didn't know it. He had sensed it too, a power far greater than his own.

Eriol's presence was strange, too, but he doubted he had any magical powers. He seemed too carefree for that.

"Oh, and Li-kun, I need to stay at your house one more day; there isn't any news about me being missing," she continued, smiling apologetically. "Gomen ne, you have to put up with me for one more day."

Syaoran didn't say anything, for his face seemed to have turned grey, and his features were tightened in... whatever it was, Sakura didn't know.

"Li?" she said anxiously. "Are you all right?"

"I flirted with Sakura-san here," said Eriol passively. His statement seemed to shake Syaoran out of his stony-ness, though.

"WHAT THE-!" he yelled, looking horrified.

"No wait, Li, he didn't!" squealed Sakura, watching Syaoran stomp threateningly towards Eriol, who just looked up.

"Well, hi!" he said, waving stupidly. Syaoran scowled and grabbed the neck of Eriol's shirt, ramming him into the wall. Sakura squeaked and jumped to her feet.

"Eriol-kun!" she shrieked anxiously, balling her fists, her eyes blazing with worry. "He didn't do that, Li!"

Both of them swivelled their gazes toward the determined, auburn-haired girl in front of them.

"Did you flirt with her?" hissed Syaoran menacingly, so Sakura couldn't catch his words. "You're disgusting, Hiiragizawa, you flirt with every girl who comes in here-"

"I don't! I was joking!" protested Eriol indignantly. "I didn't flirt with that buck-toothed one, nor did I flirt with your mother, and-"

"I've had enough, Hiiragizawa-"

"Eriol."

"Shut up, just listen to me! Don't you dare lay a finger on her! You're such a sicko, flirting shamelessly with every girl who walks in here-"

"Whoa, Syaoran, why are you getting so worked up over this? Do you care for her so much?" teased Eriol loudly and distinctly.

"Hoe?" Sakura went, as dense as always. Syaoran slammed Eriol harder against the wall.

"I told you, shut up and stop talking crap! I do not care for her, all right? Get out of here!" spat Syaoran, as silently as he could. Eriol's eyes widened in shock.

"Well, you seem so worked up! It isn't my fault if I, ahem, suspect you!" defended Eriol, wrenching himself from Syaoran's grip on his collar. "And where did you go just now? It probably wasn't _work-related_, was it?"

Syaoran turned pale.

"Get. Out."

Eriol raised his hands as if he were a criminal getting caught. He walked backwards, hands raised higher over his head.

"Li, sometimes, you can get freaky."

He kicked the door open backwards and slid out, shutting the door. Syaoran turned on Sakura, who recoiled instinctively.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I got Eriol-kun into trouble. I'm such a nuisance. I'll just... stay here and not do anything."

Syaoran relaxed his shoulders. He had been getting ready to scream at Sakura, to demand of her why she had to succumb to stupid Eriol's trashy words, but she seemed so remorseful and unhappy.

"Uh, just, stay here, all right?" he said, moving past Sakura, who was standing up with her fists still clenched. He opened his drawers and took out a sheaf of official-looking paper. Sakura took a step forwards.

"Gomen nasai, Li-kun, I'm being such a big fat kaijuu today," murmured Sakura ruefully, bowing. Syaoran's raised one dark eyebrow.

"Um, kaijuu?"

'My Onii-chan always calls me a kaijuu!" she cried. "He says I stomp around a whole lot!"

"What does kaijuu mean?" asked Syaoran, his eyebrow still raised.

"You know, a big fat creature which is really fat and ugly and eats people up?"

"That's a _kaijuu_?"

Sakura nodded.

"We call it _guai mut. _Monster."

"Oh, cool!" Sakura cried, eyes sparkling with excitement.

"Kaijuu," said Syaoran out loud, trying it out. Sakura grinned.

"That's right! But, I wonder where Onii-chan and Otou-san went to... what if they got lost?" said Sakura worriedly, her delicate features creasing into a frown. "I mean, I know they'll turn up sooner or later, but, they would have reported me being missing a long time ago!"

"They'll report you, Sakura," said Syaoran, almost robotically. "They're not lost."

"Oh, sugoi! How are you so sure, Li?" asked Sakura enthusiastically.

"I know where they are," he muttered to himself, staring intently at the whitewashed wall beside him.

"What? Did you say anything?" asked Sakura, tiptoeing slightly as she tried to look over Syaoran's shoulder. "What are you looking at?"

"Nothing," he said flatly, brushing Sakura away as he sat down at the seat. He gestured towards some fat, squashy sofas at the other side of the spacious room. "You can sit there. There're some magazines."

"Arigatou, Li-kun! Thanks for being so nice to me!" she said happily, flashing an alluring smile at Syaoran before skipping off, humming gaily.

He stared blankly after her.

No, he could not say anything. No matter how innocent, how naïve she was, he couldn't help.

She was their target. And he couldn't reveal anything to her.


	3. Struck

A/N: AWW, I feel so unloved ((sobs)) 133 hits and ten reviews. If all you people bothered to review I could have like, um, fifty reviews? And only 133 hits... people, sympathize with me! I am just an itty bitty girlie, ya know?

Joking. Well, I WOULD LIKE TO SAY (10000000000x) THANKS TO THESE WONDERFUL PEOPLE FOR BOTHERING TO REVIEW ME:

_  
**Hououza** (YAY YOU REVIEWED 2 TIMES), **:.JoEy.:** (who actually bothered to help me read through this before posting; thanks, Joey!), **dbzgtfan2004**, **spunkygal me** (this is the only story she said she didn't feel like sleeping when reading it… considered a great accomplishment for me…), **gamma-rae**, **The CherryBlossom Artist**, **Firalyn Tiatra** (nice name you've got there : D), and last but not least, **Lord Cynic**.**  
**_  
ALL YOU PEOPLE WHO BOTHERED TO READ THIS _ROCK_. AND THOSE WHO HAVE ME ON THEIR STORY ALERT LIST… Man, you people didn't even review! Argh… well, some of you. Or was it all? But thanks for putting me on the story alert list, anyways. I have 5 story alerts and 2 favs… O.o

Sorry for my trash… you can uh, skip this and read the rest… of this extremely weird, un-my-style-ish chapter.

---

Struck

He stepped into the cave, shivering slightly. Why did Boss have to choose such a hideout? Stinky, smelly, dank, dirty; the place made him feel disgusting all over.

"Boss, I have some news."

The huge, fat man reclining comfortably in a large, red chair turned around.

"Oh, you," he said, rolling his eyes and inspecting his spotless (well, spotless in his imagination) fingernails. "You're of low standard; what you come here for?"

Wincing, he approached the huge, mouldy desk in front of the Boss. Boss had just come over from Japan; his Cantonese sucked.

"I have news on our target. I know who she is," he said breathlessly, ducking his head immediately to avoid looking at the Boss's ugly face.

"Really…? Fifty-two members throw into the incinerator because they give wrong information; got burnt alive. You want to be them ah," inquired Boss contemptuously. He winced again at the misuse of his language and ran his fingers through his tousled hair.

"I think I know who she is."

"A girl, you say?"

He nodded, a lump fixing itself into his throat. Why couldn't he say this without any regrets? The girl was just so innocent, so naive, too young to go through such hell. Boss had tried to squeeze it out of maybe a hundred civilians or more, and with no success.

"How you know correct one?"

"I… sense it."

No, he couldn't reveal his magical powers. Boss would pounce on him the second the words were out.

Boss narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

"Explain 'sense it'," he said.

"It's just a feeling. The power seems to radiate out of her very skin; she doesn't even know it."

"You can sense magic?" asked Boss greedily, pounding both fists on the desk in his eagerness.

"No, no, I can't," he said hastily, raising both hands. "It's just so obvious she has a lot of power."

"The brooch we planted at the jewellery store. Was she attracted to it?"

"I don't know! It's not easy to ask," he said, lifting his head to stare at the ceiling. Bits of mould were growing on it, and the damp moisture it gave out was dripping down on his head. The stupid leaky pipe she had relayed to him in her dream was still there, and there was the barred window. All the same. She had to be the one.

"How about that black-haired boy and his father you led to us yesterday night?"

"They were the girl's family members," he said. He had sensed that, too; the brooch had glowed green instead of red, he had seen it, and knew the magical person's family members weren't far. He had found them; the brother had an amazing amount of magical power, too.

"Better have more information before you see me again, boy. Now get lost," said Boss.

"But-"

"Scram!" yelled Boss, flinging a book at him. He narrowly avoided it. "Bet you're sneaking off from your stupid company to come see me, eh? Your fault not mine if you get found out!"

He rolled onto his side just as the Boss hurled a porcelain jug towards him. Swiftly, he scrammed.

---

"No Sakura-chan here," murmured Fuutie, flipping through the newspaper. Feimei and Shiefa peered over her shoulders, while Fanren didn't bother, for she knew she would just get knocked to the ground by her over-excited sisters.

Sakura poked anxiously at her spring roll.

"Do I have to stay here for one more day, then?" she asked timidly.

"Guess so," said Syaoran carelessly.

"Gomen, I'm so interfering," she murmured, ducking her head and allowing her silky auburn tresses to hide her face.

Fuutie looked extremely happy.

"Of course NOT, Sakura-chan!" she squealed, clasping her hands dreamily. "You are so sweet and nice; I WANT you to stay here!"

"YEAH!" screamed the other three sisters.

Syaoran said something that sounded like a cross between a cough and a snort.

"Hoe… When Onii-chan and Otou-san comes, they'll surely repay you. Arigatou!" said Sakura ecstatically, giving everyone at the table a huge smile. Syaoran let out a deep breath. It was lucky Sakura was staying. Otherwise the plan wouldn't go as smoothly as it was meant to.

"Oi, Syao-chan, why don't you bring Sakura around?" yelled Fuutie, plopping her hands on the table and standing up.

"I'm right in front of you; you don't need to shout," muttered Syaoran.

"Yeah, little bro! Bring her out!" shrieked Fanren, throwing down her chopsticks.

"I said, I'm right in front of you," grunted Syaoran, looking away and making his chestnut brown bangs flop over his face in his movement. Sakura smiled weakly.

"Um, I can just stay here, can't I…?"

"NO!" hollered all four sisters. Just then, Syaoran's mother walked in. Syaoran, as usual, stood up automatically and bowed.

"We're meeting the Clan members today," she said softly.

"What?" said Sakura unbelievingly, her face turning pale.

"Again? We met them last week!" cried Syaoran, for once not standing at attention and looking scandalized.

"Must I go? Can I stay here?" asked Sakura desperately.

"Yes, and Syaoran, stay here too. Only your four sisters will come with me."

"Why me and Li?" asked Sakura tensely, stealing terrified glances at Syaoran, who was looking utterly confused.

"Wait, I'm the Clan leader, why aren't I going?"

"A great power is masking us all," she whispered, raising her head. "You are to stay here, to keep an eye on the one who can control this power. You don't need to change," she added to the girls, who were fighting to get through the stairway. "You must take care of her, Syaoran. I have applied for leave for your work, so you don't need to go."

"Wait, Okaa-san-" started Syaoran, but Yelan had already swept off, four daughters at her tail. Syaoran stared dumbly after his family members before turning to Sakura.

"Um," he said stupidly. Sakura smiled nervously.

"Hehehehehe…" she giggled, sounding stupid as well.

"So, um," said Syaoran, stupidly, again.

"Um, what can we do?" piped up Sakura, finally saying something that made sense.

"I don't know," said Syaoran gruffly, also finally saying something that made sense. He ran his fingers through his hair and grabbed a handful of his long, messy bangs. "Stupid fringe. Don't know why Okaa-san doesn't allow me to hack them off."

Sakura stayed silent, not knowing whether to laugh or not.

"Uh," said Sakura, her emerald eyes shining with anticipation, "Can we do something fun?"

"Like?" said Syaoran sceptically, raising an eyebrow at Sakura.

"Do you know how to play badminton?" asked Sakura happily.

"Uh... yeah," said Syaoran slowly.

"Can we play? Come on, Li-kun, let's play! I like playing badminton! Come on!" cried Sakura enthusiastically, clasping her hands together. "I haven't played badminton for so long! Where's the badminton rackets! Li-kun, let's play badminton!"

"Wait, let me get them," muttered Syaoran, escaping from the over-excited teenager, who was jumping up and down.

"WAI!" cried Sakura, thrilled, as she hopped out of the house. "Where can we play? Come on, let's play!"

Syaoran took the badminton rackets and stared at the single shuttlecock he held in his other hand. He hadn't played badminton for very long, either, ever since he had joined them, him and his group of brainless twits.

She didn't deserve it. She really didn't deserve it. He shouldn't have told him about her; she was just too innocent. He shook his head furiously and stepped out of the house, trying to shake off his guilty conscience.

"Okay, Li, where can we play?" inquired Sakura eagerly, taking one badminton racket and skipping all the way across courtyard that stretched as far as the eye could see. There were railings all around, and the place overlooked the sea. A small, circular platform jutted out and merged with the other straight railings; that was where Syaoran's mother practised her magic. "We can play here, ne, Li-kun? Your house is HUGE!"

"Uh, hai," he said, running to the other side of the garden. "I'll serve."

"Hai!" Sakura called back excitedly, brimming with happiness.

Syaoran weighed the badminton racket in his hand. He didn't know why, but it seemed heavy. He swung the racket backwards and hit the shuttlecock. The shuttlecock flew in a graceful arc toward Sakura, and she narrowed her eyes, raising her racket –

Too high. He had hit it too high; even if she jumped, it was unlikely she would hit it –

Sakura glowed a strange, ethereal pink, the kind of glow only people with magic could see, and she sprung upwards; only trained people like himself could jump like that – how could she - and expertly, she smacked the shuttlecock downwards. It whizzed across the garden, spinning in the air, and struck Syaoran right smack in the middle of his chest. Hard. He toppled down backwards.

"AHH! HOE! Gomen!" Sakura cried, clapping her hands to her mouth in horror as she watched Syaoran rub his head painfully. "Are you all right?"

So this was what his mother had been talking about... she had sensed Sakura's power, and now, for some reason, Sakura couldn't keep it bottled up inside herself any longer, and whacked her magic straight into the shuttlecock. Maybe it was because the Clow Cards had finally been unearthed by his boss.

Man, he really pitied her.

"Sorry, Li, I'm so sorry!" cried Sakura despairingly, as she raced towards him. His eyes widened; she ran almost as fast as he could. He was trained, and his magic helped him; he seriously doubted the young girl with her slim frame had actually been trained so vigorously before.

"I'm all right," he said, looking at her incredulously. "Where did you learn how to run and jump like that?"

Sakura knelt down beside him, tilting her head to one side.

"I didn't learn it from anywhere," she said bewilderedly. She smiled and her face shone with pride. "I got the sporty genes from my father."

That explained the running and jumping. Although her magic helped a lot.

"Maybe we shouldn't play badminton anymore," suggested Syaoran, picking himself up. Sakura's face fell.

"Okay," she said sadly. Then, her face lightened up. "Can we go for a walk instead?"

"Uh..." said Syaoran apprehensively. Sakura was probably going to magic everything out of her way. But then...

He could bring her to the boss. Yeah, and prove himself right. His mother wouldn't even know it was him; he could say Sakura had been brought home (finally) by her family members, and blah di blah di blah.

But Sakura – was too innocent – he couldn't do such a thing to her.

He clenched his fists.

"Okay, we'll go for a walk," he said forcedly. Sakura beamed and sprang to her feet.

"Yay! We're going for a walk! Wai!" exclaimed Sakura blissfully. She grabbed Syaoran's hand and jerked him towards herself.

"Oi!" he yelped, as Sakura spun around, laughing delightedly. She pointed at the gates.

"I'll race you there!" she sang, readying herself. Syaoran, bemused, stared at her.

"Wait!" he yelled, as Sakura, without warning, giggled and sprinted off.

"Try to catch up with me!" she called back, turning her head to flash a proud grin at Syaoran. He scowled.

He was going to act uncharacteristic. It was her fault; she made him do so.

"All right!" he shouted finally, darting after her. Sakura squealed in exhilaration and quickened her footsteps, while Syaoran raced after her. She was laughing happily, and a smile crept onto his face, along with a few beads of perspiration.

Never had he run so fast, and never had he seen anyone so outgoing, and so cheerful. His irritating bangs lifted off his face, and he smiled, grounding his teeth as he aimed to catch up with Sakura, the slim figure a few paces in front of him.

"Li-kun, you can't catch me!" she trilled. "You're so far away!"

"Am not!" he cried indignantly, and he reached out to grab Sakura's shoulder, stopping her effectively. She shrieked and almost fell over, while Syaoran dashed past her, and in a blink of an eye, he had reached the wrought iron gates, the same one he had carried her through two days before.

"You cheated!" cried Sakura angrily.

"I only touched your shoulder," he said calmly, shrugging and smiling victoriously.

"Wow," she whispered suddenly. Syaoran stared at her.

"What?"

"You smiled," said Sakura admiringly, her emerald eyes full of surprise and glee.

"I... didn't," he muttered, looking away, his chestnut brown bangs lifting slightly in the wind.

"You did!" cried Sakura happily. "I almost thought you couldn't smile!"

"I can't smile," he snapped.

"You did just now!" Sakura said, smiling. Syaoran glanced at her, just a simple, 'stop talking that kind of crap' glance.

And for that moment, he was frozen.

She looked so...

Pure.

And he'd only just noticed it. How stupid.

"Li-kun? Are you ill?" asked Sakura, peering concernedly at him.

"Uh, no! Why?" said Syaoran hurriedly, shaking his head.

"Your face is a bit red."

He flushed some more and looked away quickly, pressing the code to open the gates so fast his fingers were a blur.

"We ran just now, didn't we?"

"Oh, yeah. Oh, right! Let's go, Li!" cried Sakura, skipping through the gates. "When I first came here, I thought this place was all scary, because YOU were kind of scary too, Li, but now, it's actually really fun!"

"Oh, uh, right. Thanks," he said uncomfortably, while Sakura just 'whoa-ed' and 'hoe-ed' at the size of his house, as seen from outside the gates.

"Li, your house is just so amazingly big!" said Sakura, looking all amazed.

"It's not that big."

"Are you sure?" said Sakura doubtfully, staring at the normal-sized house beside it, which looked like a broom shed compared to the huge mansion.

"Yeah, it isn't," he said convincingly, rolling his eyes. Sakura seemed so gullible. She hopped a few paces in front of Syaoran, taking in her surroundings.

"Okay, Li, you be the guide!" she chirped, tilting forward slightly and smiling at him. "Where should we go?"

"Um – somewhere near my company building," he said, trying to sound casual.

"That's weird, but okay. You're the guide!" said Sakura enthusiastically, hopping down the pavement, her auburn tresses swinging with her movement. Syaoran sighed and placed both arms behind his head, locking his fingers together and supporting it (it's the famous Syaoran airing-armpit pose) while he followed Sakura, who was going, "Ahhhh!" in an excited manner at every single opportunity.

He sighed heavily and looked up at the sky. He didn't feel like bringing her to that place. But he had no choice. He was going to be tortured sooner or later; he was too lowly to be tortured, yet, like all the others who were long-term servants of that freak. But if Boss thought that he had been joking around, footling around, he'd be dead meat.

But giving up Sakura for his freedom would be...

Horrible. Inhuman. Because Sakura was just too pure, too innocent to be given up like that –

"Li-kun! What are they doing?" whispered Sakura, grabbing his hand and dragging him behind the corner they had just turned. Syaoran slammed his head against the brick wall, and he moaned silently.

"What?" he groaned, thoroughly irritated.

"They're – they're kicking her, Li, make them stop!" she whispered, her voice trembling. Syaoran peered around the corner; three guys were heartlessly kicking a small toddler, kicking her stomach, her face, everywhere.

Around these areas, this was normal. Syaoran even recognised the girl; she got bullied everyday, everyday when he walked into the building.

He just ignored it.

All the time.

"It's normal. Just ignore them and move," hissed Syaoran, peeved.

"Li, they're making her bleed! Make them stop!" whispered Sakura, tearing at her face with her fingers. Her tears trickled down them, each drop crystal-clear and full of pain.

"Hey, don't cry-"

"Please stop them! The girl is crying, she's bleeding, stop them!"

"Oi, please, don't cry-"

"Stop it! It's wrong!" screamed Sakura, jumping out from behind the corner. The three boys stopped momentarily, and Sakura murmured a tiny 'hoe'. These guys were older than her, even older than Syaoran. The surveyed her through narrowed eyes.

"Pretty baby, what do you want?" asked one in Cantonese, inching closer to her. Sakura squeaked and stepped backwards.

"Stop bullying her, it's wrong," she said angrily, balling her fists. She gestured towards the tiny toddler, who was whimpering pitifully, blood seeping from deep cuts in her arms and legs.

"Japanese, eh?" he whispered, snatching Sakura's wrist and pressing her tightly against himself. He took her chin and forced her to look up at him. "You are a damn pretty Japanese girl, sweetie..."

"Let go of me! Stop kicking her!" screamed Sakura tearfully, struggling frantically. "Li-kun!"

Syaoran was at a loss. If Sakura was weakened by these morons, he could easily drag her off to the Boss's lair and he could escape and be free.

But he couldn't do that. That would be just devilish, completely sinful.

Because Sakura was – he still couldn't find the word for it, but the stupid, annoying lump was stuck in his throat again, and with a spurt of what he thought was insanity, he sprung forward and slammed his foot into the guy's stomach. He groaned and released Sakura, doubling up and clutching his stomach.

"Don't touch her," he snarled, pushing Sakura behind himself. "Don't you dare touch her."

"Li-kun..."

The two other guys had hoisted the other guy onto his feet, and he was glaring with pure hatred at Syaoran, who was staring defiantly back at him. He wiped a trickle of blood flowing down from the side of his mouth with the back of his hand, keeping his gaze locked on the determined clan leader.

"You're going to get it," he grunted, raising his fist. "I'll get your girl if it's the last thing I do."

"Get the little girl," Syaoran said from the corner of his mouth, readying himself into a fighting position. "I'll distract them."

"But, Li-kun, you're going to get hurt!"

"Just go!" hissed Syaoran, watching the other man intently. The other man roared with fury and struck, plunging a fist towards Syaoran, but Syaoran just sprung up and landed behind the man.

Sakura stood rooted to the spot. Everyone else was busy watching Syaoran and that ugly guy. She swallowed hard and darted towards the little girl.

"I'm your friend, let's go," she whispered consolingly, picking up the girl and staggering with her weight. Sakura didn't really go around carrying heavy stuff, and to her the little girl was really quite heavy. She wondered how Syaoran had managed to walk such a long distance carrying her.

"Oi, Boss, she's leaving! The Japanese girl is leaving!" yelled one of the ugly guy's cronies, pointing at Sakura, who struggled to run.

"Get her, I want her!" bellowed the man, who was bruised all over from Syaoran's furious fighting. He was no match for the trained fighter, but he didn't care. He wanted to hurt the guy in front of him, hurt the stupid, interfering teenager in front of him that dared to defy him...

Syaoran, without warning, leaped up and cuffed the guy hard on his cheek with a flying kick, before flipping backwards and chasing after Sakura. The guy fell backwards once more, and he cursed, brandishing a fist.

"Oi! Sakura, pass me the girl!" he shouted. Sakura blinked and passed him the tiny toddler, who was whimpering with pain. Syaoran hoisted the toddler properly on his arm before grabbing Sakura's upper arm, making her squeal in surprise as he ran at top speed away from that alley, making passers-by cast unbelieving looks on them.

Finally, he turned a third corner and leaned against the wall, breathing heavily. Sakura dropped to her knees, trying to regain her regular breathing rate.

"So, where do we go now, Li-kun? Remember, you're the guide," she said breathlessly, smiling faintly.

"We bring this girl home," he said simply, all intention of bringing Sakura to that freak gone from his mind.

And then Syaoran gestured for Sakura to stand up, with the same movement he used with his hand on the first night he met her.

This time, she understood.


	4. Spied

**A very important A/N! **This is purple snowflakes one, Melody; Deborah obviously forgot to upload this chapter as she promised and I apologise on her behalf! All rightos, on to the chapter that will leave everyone hanging! Sorry, people!

Spied

Just managed to escape Eriol. He stumbled into the Boss's lair, breathing heavily.

"Boss - what I told you – yesterday – I'm not sure about it," he lied through his teeth, bending down and placing both hands on his knees, trying to breathe normally. His dark hair flopped over his forehead, which was beaded with sweat.

Boss slammed down an angry fist.

"Shut your trap, clan leader, we got her. She in your house, is she not? She is so simple to get, just bring her here, you so stupid!"

"But, it has to be stealthily, Boss," he said convincingly, his hair now plastered to his forehead. He hardly ever felt scared, but now, surprisingly, he did. Scared for Sakura. And he didn't know why.

"What you say?" asked Boss sheepishly, scratching the back of his fat head.

"Smoothly. Unsuspectingly. So she wouldn't suspect me or anything, and think I'm a very nice guy," he explained, trying to fit into Boss's horrible language. He tried to blow his bangs out of his eyes, but they stayed plastered on his forehead. Straightening himself bravely, he glared at Boss's flabby face. Luckily it was dark, so he couldn't see his expression.

"I see," said Boss. "She doesn't seem very smart to me," he added doubtfully. "You can hurry up right?"

"I'm not sure, Boss," he said, scratching his head and trying to look innocent. "She's rather sharp, you know."

"Well, hurry up, you taking so long. Why you have her for so long never tell me?" yelled Boss. He winced.

"I only sensed it yesterday, Boss," he said apologetically. "I got to you as fast as I could."

He thanked his lucky stars the darkness was overwhelming, or he would have been dead meat by then. He was forcing a smile on his face, and Boss was good at detecting lies and false smiles.

"We used the Detector," Boss mused. "It worked this time. Maybe because target is nearer, like in same country."

He swallowed. Hard.

"Yeah, maybe."

"Those two idiots of hers, that brown haired guy and his son, very irritating. Keep struggling and screaming for the little magical girl. "Oh, Sakura!" they say. They're all Japanese. I like Japanese," ranted Boss happily. Syaoran rolled his eyes. He wasn't the only one who knew how to speak Japanese, man. "But I'll have to kill off the girl to get her powers. Sad. I don't feel like killing own people."

He didn't know what to say, but more perspiration was streaking down the sides of his face.

"You see the Clow Cards yet? Since you're the one who give me information, I give you treat."

"Uh," he said nervously. "Okay."

Luckily Boss hadn't flared up. He thought he had been about to, just a few seconds before.

He had seen the Clow Cards, pictures of them, at home. His mother always showed them to him, taught him how to identify them. Now to see such power before him; yes, it was a treat.

Kind of.

"Bring the Cards out!" commanded Boss. A little servant girl, maybe about fourteen, scurried out from the darkness. Her whimpers echoed around the chamber. She passed a book to Boss, who kicked her away. She skidded across the cold, slippery floor, giving a half-hearted sob.

"Stupid girl!" bellowed Boss. "Stop crying!"

The girl wailed shrilly before running off, hands over face. He felt a twinge of pity for the girl. Strange. Pity wasn't something common coming from Li Syaoran.

"Here they are," announced Boss importantly, pointing at the book on his desk. Syaoran ventured closer, peering interestedly at the book. It was red, and across the top was a lion-like creature with wings sprouting out of its back and wearing very strange 'headgear'. On top of the creature were two words: The Clow. The book was sealed shut by a strap attached to the side of the bottom of the book and closed tightly on the side of the cover.

"We need the stupid little girl to open this," said Boss, fingering his triple chins. "We extract all her magic with my special syringe, and squeeze it all into my special container called the Magic Discharger. Special little container it is," he said affectionately. "Can use controls and switches to direct the magic to open the Clow Book and release the power held within. Then I can use the cards and everyone will be under my rule."

Syaoran gasped. He was using the Cards to wreak havoc? When broken of their seal, the Cards caused chaos, disruption, calamities. They were really powerful, those cards of Clow Reed. His mother had warned him about them, told him about the good things and bad things they could do.

He wanted to leave, to back out, but he couldn't. He was stuck.

"R-right. C-cool."

"Well, off you go now," said Boss, waving his hand. "Before anyone notices your disappearance.

Syaoran nodded and dashed out, glad to be free of that place. It felt like prison.

But even when he was far, far away from that place, he was in jail. Because he could never leave that 'clan', never leave it until he did something worthy to leave.

Like bringing Sakura to them.

Syaoran sprinted all the way to his office, not daring to stop to take a breath. Of course, his underlings stared at him with stupefied expressions, but that he couldn't help. Eriol was already suspecting him, and he had to hurry.

He burst into his office, slamming the door tightly shut and leaning against it. Sakura, curled up on one of the squashy sofas, stood up immediately.

"Li! Where did you go?" she asked, hopping over to him and peering anxiously at his face. She was about a head shorter than he was, and she had to tiptoe quite a bit to look up.

"You don't need to know," he said, brushing past her as he collapsed in his plush seat. "Don't tell Eriol I've been gone."

"Okay," she chirped agreeably. "You're so nice to me, Li-kun, so I should listen to you!" She smiled and skipped back to the sofas. Syaoran felt a pang of guilt. He ignored it, staring purposefully at some documents he was supposed to sign. When he was eighteen, he had to leave the company, hand the reins over to Eriol, and lead the Li Clan. Irritating, he knew, but soon, his mother would be asking him to get a wife (he shuddered at the very thought).

He dreaded that. Terribly.

He looked down at the stupid documents, randomly signing them. He hadn't the faintest idea how to build a company up, but it seemed to be going rather smoothly. He raised an eyebrow at one of the documents. Huh. Some company wanted to join up with them.

A company which sold… FLOWERS! He spluttered. The weirdo Li Corporation of his sold… uh… for a moment he couldn't remember, for the magical presence he knew so well in the room was gone.

"Saku – Kinomoto?" Syaoran said, catching himself in time. He couldn't call Sakura Sakura; that'd be too rude. And embarrassing. Sakura might think he had fallen for her or something. He'd called her Sakura yesterday, by accident, and he hoped she hadn't noticed.

Sakura had disappeared into thin air. Syaoran scanned the room, sweat beading his forehead. He wiped his forehead hastily with the sleeve of his suit; he wasn't worrying about her, he just needed her for Boss so he could be free, he just needed her, he didn't care for her –

He took a deep breath.

_Calm down, Syaoran. Calm down, she's probably in the building somewhere, making out with Eriol, maybe – _

MAKING OUT WITH ERIOL? He swallowed down a hard lump in his throat. He knew Eriol liked Sakura a lot, so maybe he had kidnapped her and dragged her off to his office and – he shut his eyes, trying to stop thinking about the consequences. Eriol was too loyal, he couldn't have done that – wait, maybe he could, and now Sakura was crying for help while Eriol had her trapped –

He jumped to his feet automatically and ran for the door, only to find it swing open by itself. He stopped in his tracks, hand still held out.

"Li, I made tea!" Sakura stated happily, standing outside the door and holding two cups of steaming tea, the steam rising gently into the air. "You looked so distracted, so I thought tea could perk you up!"

Syaoran opened his mouth and closed it again, still frozen in the position when he was reaching for the handle of the door.

"Do you like tea? I didn't know if you liked tea, so I made you thin tea and thick tea, so you could choose. There were only two packets of tea left, so I don't know if the tea tastes good, I haven't tried yet, so you can choose, or if you like both you can take both cups, and if you don't like tea I can go and make you coffee!"

Syaoran was still open-mouthed. He tried to say something, but only lame noises came out.

"Or do you not like tea? It's okay, I can go make coffee, you know, maybe I can bring this to Eriol-kun if you don't like it, Eriol likes tea, he met me in the small kitchen place just now and told me so! Or if you don't like coffee, I can go downstairs and get you something else from the drink vendor, just now I saw lots and lots of nice, yummy drinks, so if you want any I can go get some! But if you just want water, it's in the kitchen! I can get it for you!" gushed Sakura enthusiastically, seemingly not requiring any air to speak. Syaoran just stared.

"Li-kun?" inquired Sakura, tilting her head to one side as she looked questioningly into Syaoran's eyes. "So do you want tea?"

"You went to get tea for me?" croaked Syaoran unbelievingly.

"Hai!" Sakura cried, nodding. "You looked so tired and disturbed, and I was free anyway, so I got you some!"

Syaoran reached out wordlessly for the tea.

"Thanks, Sa – Kinomoto, I like thin tea," he said, holding tightly onto the handle of the cup. Sakura smiled brightly.

"Okay, so I'll take this to Eriol-kun-!"

"No, wait, you can drink it!" said Syaoran desperately, pulling her away from the door. She stared at him in surprise.

"But, Eriol-kun likes tea," she said, blinking her large, emerald eyes. "I think he's tired too, he had all these eye bags."

"Uh, you should drink it! You've been worrying about your family members, haven't you?" Syaoran said frantically, shutting the half-opened door. Sakura stared at him.

"Li, Eriol's your secretary, why can't I bring this to him?" she asked blankly, as Syaoran gestured forcefully towards the sofa. Sakura smiled nervously and went to the sofa, sitting in front of the glass coffee table placed in front of it.

She placed the cup of tea carefully onto the table and hugged her knees to her chest, rocking herself to and fro. Syaoran glanced quizzically at her.

"Why aren't you drinking your tea?"

Sakura looked up.

"I don't like thick tea," she murmured embarrassedly, her cheeks tinged with pink. She buried her head in deeper between her knees. "Eriol-kun said he likes thick tea. Can I bring it to him?" she asked softly, her voice muffled.

"You can have mine," Syaoran said shortly. "I don't mind both, I just prefer thin tea."

"Li?"

"Yeah?" he said distractedly, flipping through a very thick booklet stuffed with pages and glancing at his untouched cup of tea. "You can have mine, just don't go and see Eriol."

"I'm not talking about that," she whispered. Syaoran had to strain his ears.

"Then what are you talking about?" he said irritably. Sakura grimaced at his cutting tone.

"Can I call you Syaoran-kun?"

Syaoran's half closed eyes snapped open. He felt his face heating up for some inexplicable reason and he ducked his head quickly, staring intently at the fat booklet.

"W-why?"

"Because you called me Sakura," she said, her voice sparkling with pride and happiness. "You called me Sakura yesterday, so can I call you Syaoran?"

"I – I did?"

"Hai!" said Sakura blissfully, lifting her face from in between her knees. "It sounded nice, and it made me feel like we've grown closer! So since you called me Sakura, I should call you Syaoran-kun, shouldn't I?"

It was the first time in his entire life that he thanked his mother (in his head) feverishly for preventing him from cutting his fringe. It masked his face perfectly.

"Anything you want."

"Hai, Syaoran!"

She giggled and sprung to her feet, whirling herself around and around. Then, she ran over to Syaoran's desk and placed both hands on it, moving her face right in front of Syaoran's, who almost knocked over his cup of tea when he retreated instinctively.

"So now, you must call me Sakura!" she claimed enthusiastically. Syaoran tightened his grip on the piece of paper he held in his hand, his face suddenly starting to heat all over.

"H-hai, Sakura," he stammered. Sakura gave a satisfied smile before hopping back to the sofas, humming to herself.

Syaoran made sure she was at least three metres away before he sat up straight. He let out a deep breath, shutting his eyes and relaxing his shoulders. He didn't know why Sakura made him act so weird – it was probably because he was concerned for her safety as he needed to bring her to Boss.

Suddenly, he really didn't feel like taking her there anymore.

_"Strange. Boss, he didn't seem to be talking to her about bringing her here or anything. He was blushing."_

_"What blushing?"_

_"You know, embarrassed. Your face goes all red, and blah."_

_"Why he blushing?"_

_"I don't know. He's just going very red, and our target seems very – carefree."_

_"Isn't he working on his mission?"_

_"No, Boss, don't think so."_

_"Then what is that baka doing!"_

_The spy winced. Baka was a word from Boss's native language and he knew it didn't mean something nice. He shifted his position, feeling squashed in the duct, peering through the tiny grate on the ceiling of the brown-haired guy's office._

_"Just sitting there, looking relieved. Relieved for don't know what."_

_"You are worthless! That clan leader also worthless! You two worthless! Ask you to spy don't know how to spy!"_

_"Uh, well, I think I've got a vague idea why he blushed."_

_"Why he blushing? Oh, tell me!"_

_"He, um," he muttered. "He, um, likes the target."_

_"He didn't look like he liked her when he saw me just now," said Boss thoughtfully._

_"I don't know, Boss, but now he's – he's staring at her..."_

_"What?"_

_"He's staring at her very gently, like... he cares for her."_

_"KAMI-SAMA, you idiot! You're useless! The clan leader is the best I've ever got! Though I suspected him. So I sent you."_

_"Right, Boss. Send back-up then. To check if he really, um, cares for her."_

_"Fine, I'll take your word. Now get down here or you'll find your ass being fried!"_

_The spy grimaced at the thought and made his painful and squeezed way down the duct._

"Chocolate powder, chocolate powder, I like chocolate powder!" chanted Sakura cheerfully, skipping alongside Syaoran, who was carrying a plastic bag full of the things his sisters had threatened him to buy to make some stupid chocolate cake. Sakura was carrying the plastic bag with all the flour, swinging it excitedly, and he was scared that all the flour would spill out.

"Syaoran, I can make chocolate, you know?" she said, smiling contentedly. "I used to make chocolate for everyone during Valentine's Day."

He nodded bluntly.

"That's nice."

"Hai! And everyone liked it! Though my best friend Tomoyo helped me," she added, cocking her head to one side, her auburn tresses swaying with her bouncy movement. "I think that's why it tasted so good."

"That's nice."

"Yeah, my friend Tomoyo is really nice, you know!" said Sakura, her eyes sparkling with affection. Syaoran glanced at her. Her eyes, he noticed, were a deep, rich scintillating green, and when they sparkled, they were full of love and happiness. He sighed wistfully. Wish he were as carefree as she was.

"We're here," he said gruffly, slamming the doorbell. Sakura cringed.

"You're going to break the doorbell some day," she said matter-of-factly. Syaoran just sighed and walked in when the gates swung open. Sakura was left behind, still observing the doorbell at every angle.

"Hmm... hmm... hmm...! I think it's going to break right... here! Eh – Syaoran-kun? Syaoran? Wait for me!" she squealed, dashing after him.

Never did she know a figure was slinking behind her, watching her and Syaoran's every move...

_"Report to base. Report to base. REPORT TO BASE, YOU FREAK!"_

_"Oh, oh, yes, Boss?"_

_"We can't have that clan leader defending her, boy! Keep alert! Constant vigilance!"_

_"Man, Boss, where did you learn such good vocabulary?"_

_"Shut UP! Now, did the boy look like he liked the target?"_

_"Not really, boss. He didn't show anything. But there was this moment he stared at her eyes. Yeah, that's all."_

_"Spy on him some more. I'll have to interrogate him tomorrow. His behaviour is intolerable."_

_"Boss, when did your Cantonese get so good?"_

_"Uh... I'm using a superb Japanese to Cantonese dictionary."_

_"No wonder. Okay, I'm off to peek in windows. Bye, Boss!"_

_"Stop being so disrespectful! Garh! Stupid freak!"_

"Syao-chan, had a nice day at work?" asked Fuutie pointedly, smiling at her little brother. Syaoran growled.

"Shut up," he said, stuffing his mouth. It was dinner time, and Sakura was sitting at the table as usual, not feeling out of place at all.

"Fuutie-chan, can you pass me those? Oh, and gomen ne for staying here for so long! Valentine's Day is tomorrow, so I'm going to make all of you something as a thank you gift," said Sakura, smiling gratefully.

"Wait, Japanese don't have holidays at this time of the year," said Syaoran confusedly. "It's February 14 tomorrow, isn't it? Japanese still go to school at this time, don't they?"

"Well, our Tomoeda Choir won first prize in the International Chorus Competition!" she said, beaming. "My best friend Tomoyo sang solo, and because her singing is so good, she won first prize! The whole of Tomoeda Elementary gets a holiday for two weeks, thanks to Tomoyo!"

"Wow, your friend Tomoyo must be really good at singing, ne?" said Sheifa, smiling at Sakura. Sakura grinned back.

"Hai! Tomoyo's really good at everything!" she claimed enthusiastically. Syaoran continued to chew on his food, ignoring the sinking feeling in his stomach. Sakura was so bubbly and innocent; it would be such a sin to kill her like that, just to take her powers… it would be heartless, inhuman.

"Syaoran, are you all right?" inquired Sakura, bending down and trying to look at his face, for Syaoran had stopped chewing, and the tips of his chopsticks were sinking into the tablecloth. His hand was weighing heavily on them, and his messy brown bangs were covering his face.

"Syaoran?" said Fuutie bewilderedly. "Only – only -"

"Only Syaoran's family members call him-" continued Fanren.

"Syaoran," finished Feimei, flinging down her chopsticks as if that explanation proved everything. Sakura blinked, bemused.

"Oh, I see," she said. "Syaoran calls me Sakura now, ne, Syaoran-kun?"

Syaoran was finally shaken out of his reverie and he looked at Sakura, a bit dazed.

"What?"

"Now you call me Sakura, right?"

He looked up, only to meet four pairs of eager eyes locked on his. He slumped back in his chair and sighed.

"H-hai."

The four sisters grinned at each other and hi-fived. Sakura watched them, bemused.

"I'm done. Come on, Sakura, let's go," muttered Syaoran. Sakura scraped off the last bits of food on her plate before standing up.

"Okay!" she said, eyes sparkling like usual.

Sakura trailed after Syaoran, who didn't say anything, didn't give any indication that he had to bring Sakura to somewhere dreadful.

He couldn't bear to bring himself to.

_"Nothing, Boss. He didn't say anything."_

_"He didn't tell her she has to come here tomorrow!"_

_"No, nothing. But there's something interesting…"_

_"What!"_

_"STOP SCREAMING IN MY EAR, BOSS, my eardrums are gonna explode!"_

_"Just tell me what's so interesting!"_

_"Uh, well, he calls the target Sakura. Her name is Sakura."_

_"So – no, wait, that's not a surname. First names are only supposed to be applied when the people are very close friends, otherwise it'll be considered as – as – as – impoliteness, yes, that's the word. For Japanese, that is."_

_"Boss, your vocabulary is GOOD, man!"_

_"Why, thank you!"_

_"Well, and she calls him Syaoran."_

_"So, that's his name? I have been wondering what his name is, that clan leader. Thought I should thank him for his resourcefulness."_

_"But, the sisters said that only Syaoran's family members call him Syaoran. That's the interesting part."_

_"Only his family members? Strange…"_

_"They seem to be rather close, Boss, calling each other by their first names. As you said, for Japanese, only good friends are allowed to do that."_

_"Yes. He is going to see me tomorrow. You're better than the other spy, actually. Great job. Come back down here and I can show you the Clow Cards. They're my most treasured possession right now. And that Sakura girl is going to help me use them – man, she's powerful."_

_"She looks cute!"_

_"You're not supposed to think that way of our target! She's going to be killed, soon! Man, I LOVE this Japanese to Cantonese dictionary! It's so nice!"_

_"What a pity she has to die. Fine, I'm getting down there. See you!"_

_"And that boy is going to get it from me. And my Clow Cards, if he really likes the stupid little girl…"_


End file.
